Question of the Day

Did illegal voters swing any congressional races?

I went to a Redskins game, and the '68 Democratic convention broke out.

Not to worry, though. In keeping with this year's theme, police at FedEx Field used "throwback" pepper spray much gentler than the modern-day stuff to subdue brawling fans Monday night.

Medical personnel, I'm told, had trouble trying to distinguish between spectators who'd been sprayed and those who were simply vomiting because the Redskins were getting crushed by the Eagles.

Neal from Gaithersburg writes: "Shirley could have done a better job of blocking the other night than [David] Loverne."

EBay Item of the Week: An autographed photo of Dan Snyder (inscription: "Hail to the Redskins"), priced at $4.99. (Dartboard not included.)

The Redskins, you may have noticed, are on the cover of the current Sports Illustrated. The '64 Redskins, that is. They're the team Johnny Unitas the recently departed Johnny Unitas is calling signals against in the regular-season closer that year. (The only identifiable Washington player in the picture is Sam Huff, ol' No.70, who's eyeballing Johnny U. from his middle linebacker spot.)Just out of curiosity, I dug up some details about the game, won by the Colts 45-17 at Memorial Stadium. As it turns out, that was the day Baltimore's Lenny Moore set an NFL record by scoring his 19th and 20th touchdowns of the season. (It was broken the following year by a rookie named Gale Sayers.)It also was the 17th consecutive game Moore had scored a TD. That, too, was a record one that still hasn't been broken. (His streak eventually reached 18.) In fact, no one has even come close. The second-best streak is 14, by O.J. Simpson in 1975. A couple of Redskins backs, John Riggins (1982-83) and George Rogers (1985-86), later scored in 13 straight games, as did Jerry Rice (1986-87).People say Unitas' string of 47 games throwing a touchdown pass (1956-60) is a record that might never be broken, but Moore's mark has stood the test of time as well. After all, it hasn't received a serious challenge in 38 years, despite all the rule changes favoring the offense.

Since the folks in Florida continue to have trouble counting (see Janet Reno), the NFL has hired an independent auditor to certify all final scores in Miami, Tampa and Jacksonville.

The league has never reversed a decision in its 83-year history, but if it keeps putting teams in Florida, it's bound to happen someday.

The Seahawks' new uniforms make you wonder if Andy Warhol might still be alive.

Let me guess: The designer was funded by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.

As for Buffalo's new unis, the only explanation I can come up with is: Sears must be discontinuing them and gave the Bills a good deal.

"Bullet" Bob Hayes, who died last week at 59, was a breathtaking player, no question. But let's not overstate his impact on NFL history. One news outlet OK, it was CNNSI.com said Hayes' "amazing speed necessitated the development of the zone defense." This, my friends, is pure balderdash. Check out this passage from an old football book I just grabbed from my bookcase:"In the zone [pass] defense, each player of the secondary defense is responsible for a definite territory or zone. The eligible player who comes into that territory and catches a forward pass chalks up a black mark against that defender."Those words were written by Lou Little, the famed Columbia University coach, in 1935 in his guide for spectators, "How to Watch Football").

The Sunday Column is also disturbed by this inaccuracy in Ralph Wiley's homage to Hayes for ESPN.com: "Bob Hayes was a wingback in that backfield [at Florida A&M; in 1961]. The halfback was Willie Galimore, who became a Chicago Bear. The blocking fullback-tight end was Hewritt Dixon, later an Oakland Raider."Come again, Ralph? Galimore broke in with the Bears in '57. Hayes might have played in a swell backfield at A&M;, but Willie sure as heck wasn't in it.

Something I stumbled across while doing research on Hayes: In addition to winning the 100 meters in the '64 Olympics, he finished third in the 200 at the U.S. Olympic trials, nosing out world-record holder Henry Carr. But the coaches let Carr run in the Olympics, anyway figuring Bob had enough to do and he wound up taking the gold.Carr later played in the NFL, too, as a defensive back with the Giants, and had just as hard a time covering Hayes as everybody else.

One other Hayes note: When he ran a 9.1 100-yard dash to set a world record in '63, the guy whose record he broke was Frank Budd. Budd, you may recall, played with the Redskins in '63. His pro career was brief (two seasons) and uneventful (10 receptions, one touchdown).

What Ogden Nash might have said about the pitching duo of Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling:Randy is dandy,But Schilling is chilling.

It's not just that Barry Bonds walks so much (188 times through Friday), it's that he strikes out so seldom (44). Only three players in major league history have walked even 100 times more than they've whiffed in a season, never mind 144 (Bonds' current differential). The record though probably not for long is 118 by Ted Williams in 1941, the year he hit .406 (145 walks, 27 strikeouts). The other members of the 100 Club (near as I can determine):Ferris Fain, Athletics, 1950: 133 walks, 26 strikeouts, 107 differential.Eddie Stanky, Dodgers, 1945: 148 walks, 42 strikeouts, 106 differential.And selected near-misses:Arky Vaughn, Pirates, 1936: 118 walks, 21 strikeouts, 97 differential.Luke Appling, White Sox, 1949: 121 walks, 24 strikeouts, 97 differential.Lu Blue, Browns, 1932: 126 walks, 32 strikeouts, 96 differential.Lou Gehrig, Yankees, 1935: 132 walks, 38 strikeouts, 94 differential.Stanky, Giants, 1950: 144 walks, 50 strikeouts, 94 differential.Charlie Gehringer, Tigers, 1938: 113 walks, 21 strikeouts, 92 differential.Lou Boudreau, Indians, 1948: 98 walks, nine strikeouts, 89 differential.Note: Williams accomplished the feat an amazing five times in '41, '46 (156/44/112), '47 (162/47/115), '49 (162/48/114) and '54 (136/32/104). And he just missed in '51 (144/45/99).

Who is Lu Blue, you ask? Why, he's a native Washingtonian who died in Alexandria in 1958. A switch-hitting first baseman, Blue batted .287 in 13 seasons with the Tigers, Browns, White Sox and Dodgers from 1921 to '33. "A veteran of World War I [hes] probably the best-known former major leaguer to be buried in Arlington National Cemetery," according to BaseballLibrary.com.

News item: Ford Motor Co. signs Phil Mickelson to endorsement deal.Comment: Sounds like the perfect marriage the No.2 carmaker in the world and the No.2 golfer in the world.

Did you see ESPN has revived "The American Sportsman," with Rick Schroeder as the host? Frankly, I'm a little surprised Roger Staubach didn't get the job. After 11 years quarterbacking the Cowboys, he's gotta be the world's foremost authority on the shotgun.

And finally, hope this doesn't mean they're going to bring back "Sports Challenge" with Dennis Franz as M.C.